Vehicle theft is a longstanding problem. Many attempts have been made to develop devices or systems for preventing or impeding such thefts. Alarm systems are known which do not prevent movement of the vehicle, but rather sound an alarm, visual and/or audio, when the vehicle is moved or entered while the alarm is activated. Nevertheless, experienced thieves typically are able to deactivate the alarms with little difficulty. Even without deactivating the alarm, it is still possible to steal the vehicle.
Prior devices have also been used to secure to the wheel of a vehicle to prevent movement of the vehicle. However, to the best of applicant's knowledge, such devices are bulky and difficult to secure to the vehicle wheel.
Other devices have been developed for securing to the steering wheel of the vehicle to prevent driving of the vehicle while the device is secured thereto. However, thieves have overcome such devices by cutting away a portion of the steering wheel with a cutting tool and removing the device. Moreover, such devices typically only have utility for vehicles having a steering system, such as cars or trucks. The devices are not adapted to prevent theft of vehicles such as trailers and the like.
Nor do alarm systems provide protection against theft for most trailers because the trailers are typically stored in remote areas where alarms provide little or no deterrent effect. This problem is particularly significant for boat trailers. Many boat owners store their boats on boat trailers at remote marinas or other docking facilities. The boat owner is often unable to watch the trailer because the boat owner normally does not reside at or near the marina. A thief need only drive a vehicle having a trailer hitch to the marina and connect the trailer to the hitch to steal the boat and trailer. Trailer stealing is also a problem common to locations other than marinas.
Thus, there is currently a need to provide a device which can be easily applied yet which prevents the theft of a vehicle and is particularly adapted to prevent the theft of trailers.